DISTRIBUTED and AUTONOMOUS DATA SECURITY AGENT

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a distributed and autonomous digital data security agent that secures stored data and the storage device itself, from remote manipulation. The present system is an “agent” in that it acts independently in the accomplishment of its objects and is distributed in that its functionality is resides on firmware resident at disparate hardware locations. The agent is autonomous in that it cannot be remotely compromised. The system includes server having a dedicated Private link with a Chip Administrator, and a Data Link between a Chip-A, a Chip-B of said security agent. The Chip-A is resident and operable to control Write/Read calls and data transfers between the server and the Chip-Bs of the data storage. The Chip Administrator, Chip-A and Chip-B in combination with their associated Firmwares provide said distributed and autonomous data security agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of the system.

FIG. 2 shows Chip-A (30) architecture and relationship between the Network (20), Chip-A (30) and Chip-B (50).

FIG. 3a is a logic diagram showing Chip-A (30) modifying the data before sending it to Chip-B (50).

FIG. 3b is a logic diagram Showing Data coming from Chip-B (50) to Chip-A (30) which is modified by Chip-A (30) and sent to a P.C. (10).

FIG. 4 shows Chip-B (50) architecture and relationship between the Storage Device (40), Chip-B (50) and Chip-A (30).

FIG. 5a is a logic diagram showing Chip-B (50) modifying the data and or command before sending it to the Storage Device (40).

FIG. 5b is a logic diagram showing Chip-B (50) reading data from the Storage Device (40) and modifying to before sending the data to Chip-A (30).

FIG. 6 shows the architecture of the Chip Administrator (60) and its relationship with the Private Network (25).

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram showing the basic function of the Chip Administrator (60).

TABLE OF FIGURE REFERENCES

-   10—P.C. -   20—Network Public -   25—Network Private -   30—Chip-A -   40—Storage Device -   50—Chip-B -   60—Chip Administrator -   70—Data Cable -   80—Server -   90—CPU -   100—RAM -   110—Firmware 1 -   120—Firmware 2 -   130—Firmware 3 -   140—Motherboard -   150—Input -   160—Display -   170—Start Chip-A Input Logic -   180—Convert Data -   190—Check Allocation -   200—Encryption -   210—Send to Chip-B -   220—End Chip-A Input Logic -   230—Start Chip-A Output Logic -   240—Decrypt -   250—Convert for O.S. -   260—Send to P.C. -   270—End Chip-A Output Logic -   280—Start Chip-B Input Logic -   290—Check for Versioning -   300—Encryption -   310—Data Command -   320—Update Chip-A Allocation -   330—Update Local Allocation -   340—End Chip-B Input Logic -   350—Start Chip-B Output Logic -   360—Read -   370—Decrypt -   380—Send to Chip-A -   390—End Chip-B Output Logic -   400—Start Chip Administrator Logic -   410—Authenticate User -   415—Pass -   420—Initiate Administrator Mode -   430—Send Instructions and or Data -   440—Return to Normal Mode -   450—End Chip Administrator Logic

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated. Like elements in the drawings are represented by like numbers, and any similar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix.

The present invention is a distributed and autonomous data security agent that secures digitally stored data, as well as the storage device itself, from remote manipulation. The present system of data storage security is an “agent” in that it acts independently in the accomplishment of its objects. It is distributed in that its functionality is resides on firmware resident at disparate hardware locations. The agent is autonomous in that it cannot be remotely compromised—even by an administrative user.

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing providing an overview of the present distributed and autonomous data security agent practiced in a computer server system. As illustrated in the figure, a plurality of PCs 10 connect to a network public 20 allowing the PCs 10 access to a plurality of storage devices 40 residing in a server 80. The server 80 has a Chip-A 30 which independently applies the present methodology to the data stream before forwarding it, via a data cable 70, to Chip-B 50. Chip-B 50 applies additional methodology to the data before committing the data to the storage device 40. Both Chip-A 30 and Chip-B 50 are independent of the traditional server 80 system. The methodology they apply can not be seen or bypassed by the PCs 10. Only the Chip Administrator 60 via a network private 25 can see Chip-A 30 and communicate with it. No element of the system's Network Private 25 and/or Network Public 20 can see or influence (hack) Chip-B 50, which acts autonomously of the present system preventing any corruption of its Firmware-2 120. Since both Chip-A 30 and Chip-B 50 can not be seen or influenced by the PCs 10 or the network public 20, they can both apply the methodology to protect the data from corruption, hacking, etc. in a two stage process.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, Chip-A 30, which resides in the server 80 sends and receives data from the network public 20. The PCs 10 which communicate with the server 80 are unaware that Chip-A 30 is applying the methodology (applying rules for handling data, reformatting the data, encrypting, etc.) via code from Firmware-1 110 of Chip-A. Since Chip-A 30 has its own CPU 90 and RAM 100, it is able to modify the incoming or outgoing data as it is directed by the methodology to ensure the data are protected. Because Chip-A 30 is abstracted from the Network Public 20, there is no access vector for attack on Chip-A 30. After Chip-A 30 has applied its methodology to the data, in a preferred embodiment it uses a data cable 70 to send the data to Chip-B 50 which communicates with the storage device 40.

FIG. 3a shows the Start 170 of Chip-A's 30 input logic. As illustrated, when Chip-A 30 receives incoming data from the Network Public 20 it Converts 180 the incoming data from a traditional format (e.g., NTFS, HFS+, EXT 4, etc.) into a proprietary format and applies any rules (send data to a specific storage device 40, send copies to multiple storage devices 40, etc.) according to the processes established for it—the Chip-A methodology. Chip-A 30 then Checks 190 a pre-allocation table to determine which data storage device 40 to route the data to but does not itself directly cause data to be stored. Additionally, Chip-A 30 can add an encryption layer 200 to the data to be stored. After Chip-A 30 is finished applying its methodology to the incoming data, it Sends 210 the now A-modified data to Chip-B 50, thus Ending 220 its manipulation of incoming data and sending it for storage.

Conversely, as shown in FIG. 3b , the output logic of Chip-A 30 is set forth. Receiving previously stored A-modified data from Chip-B 50 via the data c able 70, initiates the Start 230 of Chip-A's 30 output logic. The recalled/previously stored A-modified data received from Chip-B 50 is Decrypted 240 and Converted 250 from its proprietary format back into the format that the PC 10 is expecting to see (i.e., into the same format in which it was originally transmitted by the PC 10). The now reconstituted outgoing data is then Sent 260 to the PC 10 requesting the data, thus Ending 270 Chip-A's application of its methodology to the outgoing data.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, Chip-B 50 resides on storage devices 40 of the storage device array of the server, and receives A-modified data from Chip-A 30 via the data cable 70 connection. Chip-B 50 applies its methodology to the A-modified data and sends the now B-modified data to the storage device 40. Additionally, Chip-B 50 can retrieve data from the storage device 40, remove the B-modified methodology (i.e., removing the Chip-B modification from the B-modified data) and sending the now A-modified data via data cable 70 back to Chip-A 30 for processing and output. Chip-B 50, having its own CPU 90 and RAM 100, is enabled to apply its methodology as coded in Firmware-2 120 fully independent of any other system component. Chip-B 50 is extracted from the whole of the system of FIG. 1, and no element or feature of the system's Network Private 25 and/or Network Public 20 can see or influence (hack) Chip-B 50. This ensures that Chip-B's fully independent control over the data it stores on the storage device 40 is never compromised.

Turning now to the functional operation of Chip-B 50, FIG. 5a shows the Start 280 of Chip-B's input logic methodology. When Chip-B 50 receives A-modified data via the data cable 70, it Checks 290 for previous versions of the A-modified data in the B-modified data on the storage device 40. If necessary Chip-B 50 will exercise versioning of associated data on the storage device 40. Chip-B 50 then may apply an optional Encryption 300 layer to the received A-modified data. Chip-B 50 then executes the methodology 310 (i.e. copy, delete, read, write, move, etc.). Once these logic steps have been followed, Chip-B 50 calculates as necessary the amount of available data that the storage device 40 will have and send the updated amount to the pre-allocation table of Chip-A 30. This allows Chip-A 30 to allocate data, based on each of the storage devices' 40 true remaining available storage capacity. While Chip-A 30 is in a “normal” mode (normal mode versus administration mode is explained below), Chip-B only reports the current version of any given piece/set of data and hides the previous versions, if any. It also tags files as deleted, but does not actually delete them outside of its own rule set. Without this feature, the PC's 10 and Chip-A 30 would miscalculate available storage, absent having Chip-B report the available storage to Chip-A's pre-allocation table. In view of the pre-allocation table, Chip-A has no confusion as to which storage device has an adequate amount of available storage for any given task, and connected PC's 10 will report correct storage amounts to a user. Once the pre-allocation data is sent to Chip-A 30, Chip-B 50 updates its own allocation table 320 on the storage device 40 to which it is assigned. This Ends 340 the methodology of Chip-B's 50 input logic.

Conversely, Chip-B's 50 output logic is shown in FIG. 5b . The output logic methodology Starts 350 when a Read 360 request is received from Chip-A 30. After receiving the data read request, Chip-B 50 Reads 360 the latest B-modified version of the requested data from the storage device 40. Any encryption layer or other Chip-B modification is removed by the Decrypt 370 process and the data is Sent 380 as recalled A-modified data to Chip-A 30 via a data cable 70. This Ends 390 Chip-B's output logic methodology.

FIG. 6 is a schematic giving an overview of the functionally and I/O features of the Chip Administrator 60 of the distributed, autonomous data security agent. The Chip Administrator 60 consists of a motherboard 140, a CPU 90, a RAM 100, and Firmware-3 130. The Chip Administrator 60 may be directly connected to any number of input devices 150 (i.e. biometric devices, keyboard, mouse, etc.), and to a display device 160, to give the user a visual representation of their interactions with the Chip Administrator 60. The Chip Administrator 60 is connected to a Network Private 25 which allows the Chip Administrator 60 to interact with one or a plurality of Chip-As 30.

FIG. 7 shows the Chip Administrator 60 logic. The authentication process Starts 400 when a user attempts access by Authenticating 410 the user via any of a myriad of known authenticating means (e.g., username & password, biometrics, etc.). Once the user has been through Authentication 410 and Passed 415, one or more Chip-As 30 are put into an Administrative mode 420. Administration Mode 420 allows actions that are not permitted by the system's Normal Mode (changing file versions, seeing files that Chip-B 50 has marked as deleted, etc.). It is important to note that even though the Chip Administrator can see the true state of the storage device 40, it is unable to issue commands directly to Chip-B 50. The Chip Administrator can only authorize Chip-A 30 to send administrative commands to Chip-B 50. Once in Administration Mode 420, the Chip Administrator 60 can send instructions and data 430 (i.e., software updates, version modifications, etc.) to Chip-A 30 which in turn will be sent as “acceptable” commands to Chip-B 50. When the user is finished administration of the system, they can exit the Chip Administrator 60 and the Chip-As 30 will return to normal mode 440, thus Ending 450 the Chip Administrator 60 logic methodology.

While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible, which would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, and not just by the embodiments. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer server secured data storage system having a distributed and autonomous data security agent, the system comprising: a computer server (80) in data communications with a data storage array consisting of a plurality of data storage devices (40); the computer server (80) having a dedicated Network Private (25) link in communication with a Chip Administrator (60), a Data Link (70) between a Chip-A (30) and a Chip-B (50) of said distributed and autonomous data security agent, the Chip-A (30) resident and operable in the computer server (80) and being a firmware device running a Firmware-1 (110) methodology, the methodology managing/controlling/processing Write/Read calls and data transfers between the computer server (80) and the Chip-Bs (50) of the data storage array; the data storage devices (40) of the data storage array each having a Chip-B (50) of the distributed and autonomous data security agent resident and operable in the computer server (80) and being a firmware device running a Firmware-2 (120) methodology and managing/controlling/processing data transfer between the Chip-A (30) of the computer server (80) and the storage devices (40) of the data storage array; the Chip Administrator (60) device consists of a motherboard (140), a CPU (90), a RAM (100), and a Firmware-3 (130) to control an operational mode of the data security agent, to provide administrative access to Chip-A (30) to configure the data security agent; and the Chip Administrator (60), Chip-A (30) and Chip-B (50) in combination with their associated Firmwares-1, -2, & -3 providing said distributed and autonomous data security agent of said computer server secured data storage system. 